spontaneous generation

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Origin of spontaneous generation

First recorded in 1650–60

Words nearby spontaneous generation

spontaneous, spontaneous abortion, spontaneous amputation, spontaneous combustion, spontaneous gangrene of newborn, spontaneous generation, spontaneous intermittent mandatory ventilation, spontaneously, spontaneous mutation, spontaneous pneumothorax, spontaneous recovery

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use spontaneous generation in a sentence

I watched SNL—the Eddie Murphy generation—and also SCTV with Rick Moranis.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A place that has multiplied success for generation after generation of its children.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This was a guy from the hip-hop generation and with a perspective that was inextricably linked to that generation.
Remembering ESPN’s Sly, Cocky, and Cool Anchor Stuart Scott|Stereo Williams|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Or will we simply see more senseless bloodshed and another generation of Palestinians defer their dreams of a homeland?
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead|Dean Obeidallah|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Changing public opinion, of course, will be the work of a generation or maybe two, but kudos to Stewart for getting it started.
The Democrats’ Black Hole—and What They Can Do About It|Michael Tomasky|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The memory of him shall not depart away, and his name shall be in request from generation to generation.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Perhaps his almost perfectly spontaneous love of tiny flowers is already a considerable advance on his so-called prototype.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
"All right, Pater," you would say, and leave the matter in the hands of the elder generation.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
Yet I think if we observe closely we shall detect traces of a spontaneous impulse towards self-adornment.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for spontaneous generation

spontaneous generation

noun

a theory, widely held in the 19th century and earlier but now discredited, stating that living organisms could arise directly and rapidly from nonliving materialAlso called: abiogenesis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for spontaneous generation

spontaneous generation

The supposed development of living organisms from nonliving matter, as maggots from rotting meat. The theory of spontaneous generation for larger organisms was easily shown to be false, but the theory was not fully discredited until the mid-19th century with the demonstration of the existence and reproduction of microorganisms, most notably by Louis Pasteur. Also called abiogenesis